Alcoa posts surprise first-quarter profit

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Aluminum producer Alcoa kicked off earnings season Tuesday with a surprise first-quarter profit, a trend investors can only hope will continue given the low expectations as the quarterly reporting period gets underway.

Alcoa said it earned $94 million, or 9 cents per share, during the first three months of the year. Revenues edged up slightly to $6 billion, despite a 9% percent drop in aluminum prices

This quarter's results are especially in focus since earnings expectations are low overall, with analysts expecting companies in the S&P 500 to show an 0.1% drop in profits, according the FactSet Research. While that's only a meager decline, it does mark the end of a nine-quarter earnings winning streak.

Furthermore, the materials sector is likely to show the most weakness, with earnings forecast to fall more than 14%, according to FactSet.